The two men are wearing clothing that hides their features, but from their builds one is clearly a Sorian and the other a Stemian. The taller Sorian also seems to have his head bandaged and it is he who is carrying the staff whose end is lit up with a magical light spell.

Still trailing the two by about 100', Midian and Basilly follow them onto the bridge that crosses to the middle island. Midian notices that the traffic on the road ahead seems to have died down from before and that the men seem less interested in talking now and are looking around more.

[OOC: Make another Deception check to avoid being noticed. Also note that there is a permanent City guard station just on the other side of this bridge.] 

OOC: I am assuming the taller one with the bandages matches Moonson’s description.

Deception: 13

Midian feels a thrill of anticipation and adrenaline as they close in on their quarry, but outwardly does all he can to maintain the ruse and avoid attracting suspicion. He noted the presence of a guard house, surmising if the confrontation becomes loud they can expect intervention, which while a complication is largely more to their advantage than the cultist suspect. 

Quote from Izraal1 >>

OOC: I am assuming the taller one with the bandages matches Moonson’s description.

[OOC: Correct. Sorians tend to be taller than Stemians and Basilly said that Moonson was bandaged.]

Deception: 13

[OOC: Basilly's Deception check: 21 ]

Midian feels a thrill of anticipation and adrenaline as they close in on their quarry, but outwardly does all he can to maintain the ruse and avoid attracting suspicion. He noted the presence of a guard house, surmising if the confrontation becomes loud they can expect intervention, which while a complication is largely more to their advantage than the cultist suspect. 

As the two of them approach the bridge, Basilly starts to slow down. "Hold up," he says. "We don't want to be too obvious."

Midian feigns positioning himself to talk to the other Seeker, maintaining a casual air as if they are friends discussing their destination, and aligning his body so his lips cannot be read. “What do you recommend?”

"It is just that we will stand out on the bridge..." says Basilly, looking casually eastwards towards the sea. "Let us stand here for a moment and give them an extra twenty feet or so."

He casually points in the direction he is looking and then asks, "Do you recognise Moonson? If you do not, then chances are he will not recognise you either, whereas he might recognise me."

[OOC: Midian has never seen the man before, but the taller man of the two they are following certainly matches the general description of Moonson.]

After a moment's pause he adds, "Therefore, it might be a good idea to walk down the opposite sides of the street. And, if they see me, I will break off and fall back aways so hopefully they won't notice you. The last thing we want to do is confront him directly. Arion's Arrows would make mincemeat of us."

Then he asks, "Have you ever used the cantrip I used to speak with you before? Did you know that you can reply to me?"

[OOC: This is not a cantrip Seeker Harlan possessed, so make an Arcana check against a DC of 8 to see if Midian knows about being able to reply or not.]

Arcana:  22

"I recognize him be description, odds are he would not recognize me specifically, we can split off and pursue from different sides of the street," Midian agrees.  "We may have to confront him at some point, but we can certainly bide our time until it is advantageous for us."  

On the question of the cantrip, Midian likely understands he can whisper a reply, and confirms as much.  

Having given the people they are following a little bit more of a lead, Basilly indicates for Midian to proceed him onto the bridge.

The bridge crossing occurs uneventfully but, as they walk past the city guard station, Midian hears one of the guards hail Basilly by name.

Like most people in the street, Midian turned at the sound of the voice and watches as Basilly approaches the guard post in response to the hail.

Turning back, he notices their quarry is now walking a little faster.

If the message spell still allows for communication, while feigning people a passerby observing Basily's conversation with the guards as one normally would from the noise of conversation on an otherwise quiet road at night, Midian would whisper, "See if you can obtain their assistance without alerting our quarry,  I will continue pursuit."  If the message spell is not ongoing, Midian will entrust Basily to take reasonable action and continue pursuing the two, attempting to maintain subterfuge.   

[OOC: Based on his Arcana check, Midian would know that the ability to respond is only fleeting (i.e., within the same round and while the caster is doing the somatic action).]

Not wanting to lose their quarry, Midian continues to follow the two men hoping that he will not be associated with Basilly and the guards.

[Make another Deception check.]

Deception 11

In the event that nat 1 is a failure, re roll for exp: 13

Quote from Izraal1 >>

In the event that nat 1 is a failure, re roll for exp: 11

[OOC: Midian gains some experience.]

As he moves along the street trying to not draw attention to himself, the shorter of the two men turns back and looks at Midian and for just a moment their eyes lock.

There was no sign that the man thought Midian a potential threat, but Midian now knows that he will be recognised in future, which will make following this man a lot more difficult.

If Midian has any convenient ways to change his outward appearance - a cloak he can reverse or something of that nature - he will do so. Otherwise, knowing he has been spotted and noted, he realizes he will likely have to rely more on outright stealth than subterfuge, not as preferred a method, but it may be his only remaining option. If his fellow Seeker order member regroups he will consult with him. Midian glances back when possible to see if the conversation with the guardsmen is ongoing. 

[OOC: Midian could remove and dump his outer 'Student' disguise as he is wearing leather armour underneath. This would change his outward appearance, but might attract attention from city guards as he would now be recognisable as a man wearing armour.]

Looking back over his shoulder, Midian can see Basilly still talking to the guard and occasionally looking in his direction.

Turning back, he sees the two men he is following turn right into a side street. He is now momentarily out of their sight.

Midian assumes Basilly is dealing with the guard and providing some explanation of their activities, but he does not want to lose track of where his quarry has gone, and tries to prioritize not losing them down the alley, peeking around carefully after a few breaths to see where they are heading.  

Stealth:   5

Perception:    22

Midian moves quickly up to the corner around which he saw the two men disappear.

With his back to the wall of the building, he takes a few breaths and then peeks around the corner just in time to see the two duck into the doorway of a building about 80' away.

Unfortunately, he is also fairly sure that they saw him put his head around the corner.

"I don't know who you are," he hears. "But you had better leave us alone."

OOC: Does the voice seem to be from the doorway about 80' away, or from closer by, as if one of them split off from the other to hang back and eliminate pursuers?  If it sounds like someone nearby, he will probably want to answer back, likely with a ruse, if the voice was from the direction he was shadowing, he would probably fall back to get Basilly and loop him in that they have been spotted.  

Quote from Izraal1 >>

OOC: Does the voice seem to be from the doorway about 80' away, or from closer by, as if one of them split off from the other to hang back and eliminate pursuers?  If it sounds like someone nearby, he will probably want to answer back, likely with a ruse, if the voice was from the direction he was shadowing, he would probably fall back to get Basilly and loop him in that they have been spotted.  

[OOC: Sorry, I should have given a better description. The voice sounded young and also sounded like it came from the direction and distance of the doorway 80' away. I will assume that Midian falls back to regroup with Basilly.]

Realising that their quarry now suspects they are being followed, Midian turns to head back in the direction he has come. 

What happened? Why are you returning? Basilly asks magically from the guard station.

Midian tersely responds to Basilly’s message spell at a whisper that the other man should hear perfectly- “I was spotted. The two of them entered a building not far ahead. We don’t have the element of surprise but we can’t let Moonson escape, either. Were you able to recruit from aid from the guards?”

Several seconds pass before Basilly's magical reply: I can I think. Try to think of some way to delay them.